2011 opened with epic tragedy in a tsunami that devastated Japan, with shock in the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and with sadness in saying goodbye to actress Elizabeth Taylor and America's last World War I veteran.

It began as a year of reckoning, too, as demonstrations forced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek to resign, former Cuyahoga County commissioner Jimmy Dimora was indicted on racketeering charges, and the Cavs bounced to the basement.

JANUARY

Jan. 1: Fireworks are suspected in the deaths of more than 3,000 red-winged blackbirds found the day after New Year's Eve in Beebe, Ark. Officials theorize the year-end celebratory pyrotechnics startled the birds, causing them to fly into chimneys, houses, trees and each other.

Jan. 2: Marine Cpl. Jacob A. Tate, 21, of Columbus, is killed in combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Tate, who had previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, is survived by a wife and infant son.

Richard "Dick" Winters, who won fame as the Easy Company commander whose World War II exploits were popularized by the book and TV miniseries "Band of Brothers," dies in central Pennsylvania at age 92.

C. Ellen Connally is named president of the new Cuyahoga County Council.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich sues a U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria for $150,000 to cover dental damage he says was caused after biting into an olive pit in a sandwich wrap. He subsequently settles out of court.

Jan. 4: The captain of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise is relieved of command for demonstrating poor judgment in making ribald and offensive videos for airing on the ship's closed-circuit TV system. The videos, made when he was the ship's executive officer in 2006-2007, had surfaced in the media.

Marilyn June Pfleger, known as Cleveland's "Hubcap Queen" for her years of merchandising these shiny wheel discs, dies at age 85.

Jan. 5: Ohio Republican John Boehner is elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Cleveland Cavaliers offer a job to Ted Williams, 53, a homeless man discovered by the Columbus Dispatch soliciting motorists for help with the sign, "I'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times," and whose rich baritone voice became an online video sensation. The Cavs' offer is later withdrawn after Williams goes into rehab. In November, he starts broadcast work for New England Cable News in Boston.

Jan. 6: An unemployed tree-cutter pleads guilty in Mount Vernon, Ohio, to killing three people who surprised him during a burglary in November of 2010. He stuffed their dismembered bodies in a hollow tree, and kidnapped and raped a 13-year-old girl who was with them. He is sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In one of his last acts before leaving office, Gov. Ted Strickland issues an executive order banning future private ownership of dangerous wild animals. Strickland's order -- which also prohibits future sale and breeding of these animals -- expires after 90 days and is not renewed when Gov. John Kasich takes office, allowing the owner of a wild animal preserve in Zanesville to continue operating until Oct. 18 when he kills himself after freeing his animals. Local lawmen are forced to kill 49 escaped animals, including lions, tigers and bears.

Jan. 8: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, of Arizona, is among 19 people shot when a gunman opens fire on a crowd at a Tucson shopping center where Giffords is meeting with constituents. Six people are killed, including John Roll, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, and a 9-year-old girl waiting to meet Giffords. The shooting suspect is tackled by bystanders and taken into custody.

The Cavaliers suffer their worst loss in team history, 112-57 to the Lakers, and also set a team record for fewest points scored in a game. Go Cavs. Anywhere.

Local artist Florian Kenneth Lawton -- whose paintings went to the White House, Fortune 500 firms and museums -- dies at age 89.

Ohio University will allow men and women to live together in residence halls this fall.

Jan. 12: Less than a year after joining the Army, Pfc. Zachary Steven Salmon, 21, of Harrison, near Cincinnati, dies of wounds from small arms fire in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. Salmon was a cavalry scout assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. He is survived by a son and his parents.

Dennis Kratochvil, former facilities manager at the Ohio Department of Transportation's District 12 headquarters in Garfield Heights, is sentenced to seven years in prison for devising an elaborate bid-rigging and kickback scheme.

Jan. 14: A groundbreaking ceremony is held for Cleveland's $465 million medical mart and convention center.

Denver is first and Cleveland second among America's snowiest big cities, according to Internet list-maker forbes.com.

Jan. 15: The Girl Scouts change bakers for their line of beloved cookies, hence new names: Samoas are now Caramel deLites, Trefoils are Shortbread, Tagalongs are Peanut Butter Patties and the Do-si-do is a Peanut Butter Sandwich cookie. But a Thin Mint is still a Thin Mint, as time goes by.

Jan. 16: Milton Levine, co-inventor in 1956 of Uncle Milton's Ant Farm -- an educational toy purchased by more than 20 million folks fascinated by the sight of ants tunneling through clear-plastic-enclosed sand -- dies at age 97.

Jan. 17: New Ohio Gov. John Kasich gets off to a shaky start by issuing a proclamation honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with the document date recognizing the famed civil rights leader on March 17, St. Patrick's Day.

Music mogul Don Kirshner, who launched the Monkees and hosted a rock/pop music TV series in the 1970s, dies at age 76.

Army Reserve Maj. Michael S. Evarts, 41, of Concord Township, dies in a non-combat-related incident in Iraq where he was serving with the 256th Combat Support Hospital, based in Twinsburg. He is survived by a wife and two children.

Jan 18: The Plain Dealer gets a new managing editor, Thomas J. Fladung, a 28-year newspaper veteran and most recently editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

R. Sargent Shriver, first Peace Corps director and head of President Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty," dies at age 95.

Jan. 19: The new Republican majority in the U.S. House strikes a blow for symbolism by voting to repeal the Democrats' landmark health-care overhaul, knowing the Democratic-controlled Senate will not act on the repeal.

Jan. 23: Fitness guru Jack LaLanne, former TV exercise show host and founder of a chain of health studios, dies at age 96.

Rabbi N.W. Dessler, guiding force of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, dies at age 89.

Jan. 24: Residents of Fairport Harbor in Lake County are evacuated after a surge in a natural gas line causes more than 20 fires and explosions, resulting in $1.2 million in damages to homes but no injuries.

A suicide bomber kills 35 people and wounds at least 130 others at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

Jan. 25: In his second State of the Union message, President Barack Obama pledges to make the nation more competitive, cut the deficit and wasteful government spending, trim corporate taxes, and freeze most discretionary federal spending for five years.

The first of accused terrorists held at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be successfully prosecuted in a civilian court is sentenced to life in prison for the 1988 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa that killed 224 people.

Jan. 27: Thousands of protesters take to the streets of Yemen after three days of similar demonstrations in Egypt.

The 32-story Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building in downtown Cleveland will get a $121 million facelift consisting of an exterior wrapping of glass and aluminum to cut energy costs and make the structure more bomb-resistant.

Law enforcement agencies around Cleveland write 38 percent more traffic citations this month than in January, 2010.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 1: A 2,000-mile-wide, two-day storm roars across a third of the country, affecting upwards of 100 million people in a deluge of snow and freezing rain. Cleveland escapes the brunt of the storm but Canton and Toledo are hit hard by ice and blizzards.

In the face of continued public demonstrations, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announces he will not run for another term in the fall elections. Jordan's King Abdullah II, apparently influenced by protests similar to those sweeping the region, dismisses his prime minister and cabinet.

Developers pay $85 million for 16 acres between Huron Road and the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland to build a $600 million casino. The first phase is to open in the former Higbee building on Public Square.

Feb. 2: Pennsylvania's famed groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, does not see his shadow, nor does Ohio's Buckeye Chuck, in Marion, so supposedly there'll be an early spring -- right about the time the Cavs win the NBA championship.

Feb. 4: Cleveland's Hot Sauce Williams barbecue biz is working on a cannabis-infused sauce for possible sale in states where medical marijuana is legal, prompting suggestion of a potential brand name: "Pot Sauce Williams."

Feb. 5: The Cavs lose their 24th game in a row, setting a record for the longest losing streak for any NBA team in any single season. And just to show it isn't a fluke, two days later they lose their 25th straight, setting a new NBA record for consecutive losses spanning two seasons.

Marine Cpl. Lucas T. Pyeatt, 24, of West Chester Township in southwest Ohio dies while on combat patrol in Afghanistan. Pyeatt was a member of the 2nd Radio Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Feb. 8: A groundbreaking ceremony is held for the new $26.7 million Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland on Euclid Avenue in University Circle, with completion expected in 2012.

The U.S. Transportation Department, assisted by NASA engineers, says a 10-month study finds no electronic reason for unexpected acceleration problems in Toyotas.

The Rev. John Henry takes an indefinite leave of absence from St. Herman's House of Hospitality, a monastery and homeless shelter he runs on the city's near West Side, after police confiscate more than 200 guns and 2,000 boxes of ammunition from him, but do not charge him with any crime.

Army Spc. Nathan B. Carse, 32, of Harrod, in northwest Ohio, dies in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Engineer Battalion, 176th Engineer Brigade.

Feb. 9: Ford Motor Co., maker of the F-150 pickup truck, sues Ferrari for calling its latest race car the F150; presumably because consumers might be confused when trying to put a rifle rack in their F150.

Feb. 11: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek resigns, ceding government control to the military and ending his 30 years of autocratic rule after 18 days of public protest that cost more than 300 lives. The military subsequently dissolves the parliament, suspends the constitution and calls for elections, which are held Nov. 28.

Fans rejoice as only loss-hardened Clevelanders can when the Cavs finally win a game after losing 26 straight, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-119.

Cleveland "Supercop" Patrolman James Simone announces he will retire on March 21, his 63rd birthday, after 38 years on the force.

Feb. 14: A federal jury finds Antun Lewis guilty of setting a blaze that killed eight children and an adult in 2005 at a house on East 87th Street.

Public protests similar to recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia hit Iran, Bahrain and Yemen.

Joanne Siegel, wife of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and believed to be the model for the Man of Steel's love interest, Lois Lane, dies in California at age 93.

Former Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter, whose NFL career crashed due to a gambling addiction, is charged with stealing more than $1 million from a 68-year-old woman in suburban Columbus.

Feb. 17: Self-proclaimed Nazi Frank Spisak, who murdered three people in a racism-fueled shooting rampage at Cleveland State University in 1982, is executed.

Army Staff Sgt. Bradley C. Hart, 25, of Perrysburg, outside Toledo, dies at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, Africa, after being injured in a non-combat incident. Hart was assigned to Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Feb. 18: Violence erupts in Middle East protests as the governments of Yemen, Libya and Bahrain open fire on demonstrators.

Feb. 19: High winds topple the 40-foot-tall National Christmas Tree, ending its tenure of nearly 33 years on the Ellipse just outside the White House.

Feb. 20: A Plain Dealer review of backlogged cases before the Cuyahoga County boards of revision finds that the delay has cost schools, local governments and other public agencies more than $21 million since 2007.

Trevor Bayne, 20, becomes the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500.

Feb. 21: Two days after temperatures soar into the 50s, an ice storm cuts power to 40,000 residents. Welcome to winter in Northeast Ohio.

Feb. 22: President Barack Obama and Cabinet members come to Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center and meet with local small-business executives to find out what their firms need to expand and succeed.

A Cleveland trucker is killed when his rig jackknifes on the Interstate 480 bridge in Valley View, shearing off the cab, sending it over a barrier wall and down a 200-foot drop.

Somali pirates kill four Americans hostages aboard a hijacked yacht as U.S. Navy officials negotiate for the captives' release. American forces board the boat, kill two pirates and capture 13 others.

Feb. 24: Space shuttle Discovery, America's longest-flying space vehicle, lifts off on its final flight after 39 missions. It finishes its 27-year career on March 9.

Feb. 25: A three-judge panel grants the wish of Denny Obermiller, 29, to be sentenced to death for murdering his Maple Heights grandparents last year.

Feb. 27: "The King's Speech" gets an Academy Award for Best Picture and its star, Colin Firth is named Best Actor. Natalie Portman gets the Best Actress Oscar for "Black Swan."

Frank Buckles, the last remaining U.S. veteran of World War I, dies on his farm in West Virginia. Buckles grew up in Missouri and lied about his age to enlist in the Army at 16 so he could join an ambulance service in England and France.

Feb. 28: Melting snow and heavy rain cause major flooding woes across northeast Ohio, including destruction of a century-old dam on the Chagrin River in Gates Mills.

Famed movie starlet Jane Russell, who shot to fame in Howard Hughes' 1941 flick "The Outlaw," dies at age 89.

MARCH

March 2: A bill drastically reducing the collective bargaining rights of Ohio's public employees narrowly passes the House.

Two people are killed in Suffield Township when their house is demolished by a propane gas explosion.

BYOP: Continental Airlines says it will save $2.5 million a year by eliminating those 19 tiny pretzels they give each economy-class passenger.

A year after introducing the iPad, Apple comes out with the new and improved iPad2. Apple CEO Steve Jobs promises they'll wait at least a month or two before making their latest iPad obsolete (just kidding).

A Plain Dealer review of costs for Cuyahoga County's new $189 million Juvenile Justice Center finds that furnishings include a $23,000 conference table, $1,000 desk chairs and $600 telephone stands.

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a Kansas church has the right to picket military funerals in the belief that the deaths are God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.

Your brain on booze: Elyria police say a man they pulled over during a traffic stop was asked if he'd been drinking. The driver took a swig from an open can of beer and replied, "Yes."

March 3: Ohio Gov. John Kasich announces that scenes from the superhero movie "The Avengers" will be shot in Cleveland.

Zoom-zoom/boom-boom: Mazda recalls more than 65,000 2009-2010 Mazda6 cars because spiders could spin webs in a fuel system vent, possibly causing a fire.

March 7: American Greetings Corp. says it will keep its world headquarters in northeast Ohio, after the state approves a $93.5 million package of grants, loans and tax rebates for the 105-year-old greeting card maker.

March 8: Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel is suspended for two games and fined $250,000 by the university for failing to report student-athletes selling OSU sports memorabilia.

Convicted serial killer Edward Edwards, 77, already serving multiple life terms in prison, gets a death sentence for murdering his foster son in Troy Township in 1996.

March 9: The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Cleveland's population dropped 17 percent (80,000) in the past decade to 396,815, the lowest total in more than 100 years.

Actor Ray Stevenson attends the Cleveland premiere of "Kill the Irishman," a film based on the life of local gangster Danny Greene.

A controversial measure to strip collective-bargaining rights from public workers in Wisconsin passes in the state Senate despite the absence of all Senate Democrats who left the state in an attempt to block passage of the bill.

March 18: Warren Christopher, secretary of state under President Bill Clinton and chief negotiator for the 1981 release of American hostages in Iran, dies at age 85.

March 19: American and European forces unleash a barrage of missile and air attacks to impose a UN-sanctioned no-fly zone over Libya and protect anti-government forces trying to oust Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Sandusky Police Officer Andrew Dunn, 30, is shot and killed after stopping a man on a bicycle. The shooting suspect is hospitalized with at least one gunshot wound.

March 22: Army Staff Sgt. Joshua S. Gire, 28, of Chillicothe, a third-generation Army soldier, is killed on his second deployment to Afghanistan when enemy forces attack his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. Gire was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany, where he lived with his wife and two children.

March 23: Two-time Oscar winner Elizabeth Taylor -- as renowned for her off-screen marriages, jewels and social activism as for her sultry movie roles -- dies at age 79.

March 24:Rebecca Lanier, of Beachwood, celebrates what her family believes is her 119th birthday, lacking documentation to prove that she could be the world's oldest person.

March 25: Former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Bridget McCafferty is convicted of lying to the FBI during its investigation of county corruption.

March 26:Geraldine Ferraro, who in 1984 became the first woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket -- losing in a landslide with Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale -- dies at age 75.

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